Northern Ireland

Creative Climate Action Fund

The Creative Climate Action Fund (3rd edition) is a fund opportunity supervised by Creative Ireland, a subsidiary of the Irish Government. The fund seeks to provide monetary assistance to interested parties in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland with relevant projects surrounding creativity and climate change adaptation.
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  • February 17, 2026
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Key Dates

Fund dates: 2026 – 2029

Application Open: 16 February 2026

Online Information Session: 12:30pm on Wednesday 25th February 2026

Network Session: Friday 6th March 2026

Application Close: Wednesday 15th April 2026 at 3:00pm

Notification of Applicants: June 2026

Overview

The Creative Ireland Programme, through the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport (DCCS) in collaboration with the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE) and the Department of the Taoiseach (D/Taoiseach), is delighted to invite applications to Creative Climate Action Fund III, a competitive fund of €6.5 million for creative projects that can connect people with the profound changes that are happening in our environment, society and economy arising from climate change, and can transform that connection into understanding and action.

This new Creative Climate Action Fund seeks to complement existing outreach and awareness raising work across government in relation to climate action. The National Dialogue on Climate Action (led by DCEE) is the central initiative, acting as a forum of collaboration between citizens, communities, stakeholders, the government and relevant agencies covering a range of climate-related issues. We are seeking projects using art and creative practices to change thinking, and bring about behavioural or cultural shifts. The goal is to increase public engagement and climate literacy while empowering individuals at national and local level, as well as delivering an inclusive programme of engagement to inform climate policy.

Equally, the Programme for Government has highlighted its commitment to deliver actions that achieve emissions reductions targets. As well as this, it aims to “Support the Just Transition Commission’s work to listen to communities, address their concerns, and ensure they benefit from the green transition.”

Objective of the Fund

The total funding available under Creative Climate Action Fund III is €6.5 million, with funding in the range of €400,000 to €750,000 available per project over a three year period. This is an increase of budget and project length from previous funds.

We are seeking innovative projects of scale and ambition that lead with a strong artistic, cultural, or creative approach to enable climate action in a community of place or practice. At the core of this fund is a focus on transforming understanding into specific and tangible climate actions.

€1 million of the total fund of €6.5 million is part of the Shared Island initiative. There will be approximately two projects awarded funding under the Shared Island allocation. We welcome applications from project teams in Ireland working in partnership with local or national community, cultural and creative organisations in collaboration with North-South partners or both North-South and East-West (Ireland-Britain) partners.

The lead applicant must be based in Ireland. The Shared Island projects may include partners from East-West (i.e. England, Scotland, and Wales) but must include at least one partner from Northern Ireland.

If projects fall under the Shared Island element of the fund, the application should demonstrate that funding will be shared fairly with partners with meaningful activity with North-South and if applicable, EastWest (Ireland-Britain) partners.

Addressing climate change requires a social and cultural transformation. It is our culture that shapes how we interact with our environment – through our habits of consumption, ideas about nature, what we value as meaningful, and what we think is possible and impossible.

This is why we want to see projects which have public engagement or participation at the core. This may include the wider public, a group of people living in the same geographic place or context (e.g. urban or rural), a community of practice, a group/organisation of shared interest or need or with a particular characteristic in common, a network of people etc.

Who Should Apply

The lead applicant must be based in or operate substantially within the Republic of Ireland. Approximately two projects will be supported through the Shared Island initiative, for which there must be partners in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (Note: projects including an element of engagement in Northern Ireland are welcomed outside of the Shared Island allocation).

This fund is relevant to:

  • Sustainability and environmental managers
  • Arts and cultural organisations or institutions
  • Creative organisations, public sector bodies, or established networks
  • Climate organisations or established networks
  • Charities or not-for-profit organisations
  • Universities and institutes of education
  • Social enterprises
  • Local authorities (individually or in collaboration with other LAs)
  • Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs)
  • Community groups and networks
  • Businesses and commercial companies
  • Philanthropic and research bodies

Application Details

Applications can be made by completing the online application form at https://creativeireland.submit.com no later than 3pm on Wednesday 15th April 2026. Upon submission, you will receive an email advising that your application has been received.

Successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified by email of the outcome of their application, estimated June 2026.

For more information on applications and desired projects please visit the Creative Ireland website or review the Grant Call document.

Contact

Creative Ireland Programme

Leeson Lane

Dublin 2

D02 R5Y3

Tel: +353 085 832 8207